5 Mistakes when Composing in a DAW

[@Fire-Toolz]

i don't see stacking plugins & playing with processing & doing a bunch of automation & tricks to get a weird abstract sound you have in your head as a distraction? why does it have to be "getting lost?" couldn't it just be part of the process as a composer? why does experimental sound design not count as an important part of the song? if you spend time on writing melodies & progressions, i don't see how having a field day with processing wouldn't just be one in the same. "what if i click this, what if i click that..." this is how we become inspired! this is how we discover! this is how we challenge ourselves! this is how we innovate! when i get on calls with clients i typically encourage them to do this stuff. not to the point of ruining the project of course.

[@vincecomposer]

I agree with everything you’re saying! I would just make a distinction between more open ended experimentation in sound design vs sound design where you’re executing a specific idea you have in your head simply and efficiently. I find I often start with the intention to do the latter but end up doing the former. Even then it’s not always a bad thing as I might come up with something better than I imagined. But in my experience if in go down a rabbit hole it’s easy to lose touch with the bigger picture and get a bit fixated rather than making something that works (first pass) and then continuing to write.

[@BlackMatt2k]

I kept getting bogged down until I separated "tech" days when I improve the setup, from "flow" days when I just roll with its limitations and jot notes for the next "tech" day.

[@vincecomposer]

Great tip! Yes I definitely find that task switching is costly, and it pays to give yourself permission to stay in one mode as long as you can.

[@ishagshafeeg]

Really good information. Thank you

[@vincecomposer]

You’re welcome, happy composing!

[@guga10x]

You're channel is really amazing. Love your aprouch to compose music. Thank you. Cheers, from Brazil.

[@OmrAbzd]

Very well made video, lots of great info! Thanks for the insight :D

[@vincecomposer]

You’re very welcome!

[@dancouper2024]

Some good approaches in there Vince .. thanks 🙏 nice video

[@MartinJG100]

Good tips. 9:31 Absolutely. Big yes to this. A walk and a digital recorder do wonders for freeing the creative bent. I reckon it's a two way process that often meets somewhere near the middle. Outside in which is external noodling with sounds for ideas and inspiration etc and inside out which is where the gestation process bubbles away and then breaks out. The whole creative process is fascinating.

[@vincecomposer]

Yeah there’s definitely a two way flow 😊 if I’m generally feeling inspired ideas can seem to come from everywhere, but sometimes it requires me to start the momentum myself by setting up some constraints.

[@MartinJG100]

@@vincecomposer Indeed, it's that inimitable 'incoming assault' from the Muse :)...

[@davidasher22]

Dude! I've been dreaming about a universal velocity control for a while now. I usually play my drums in on the Maschine but some libraries just don't work well with any of the internal velocity settings. I recently picked up Concussion from Crow Hill and they have a very similar velocity control inside the instrument. I figured something like that would be possible in Scriptor. I even checked thinking it may already exist as one of the stock midi plugins. But thats pretty much been my limit so far with Scriptor. I did attempt to generate some script with ChatGPT when it first came out but that failed miserably. That probably contributed to my aversion toward Scriptor if I'm being honest. But I'm pretty confident I can handle copying in some existing code. Very cool find!

[@vincecomposer]

Yes i was surprised there isn’t something built into logic already tbh. The velocity processor seems close but isn’t quite the right tool for the job. It’s great that there a people out there willing to make tools like this available to the community for free.

[@davidasher22]

Am I using this thing right? It seems like it’s only a single snap shot of the specific velocity curve you make. Right? There’s no way to adjust the parameters in real time?

[@vincecomposer]

Not in real time, if you want to have quick access to different settings you’d need to create a couple of saved presets in scripter

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

5:57 velocity is a source of many mistakes when we begin. Also the daws are not programmed for the way we use velocity , or at least the way i do…

[@vincecomposer]

Agreed often the default setup is not that useful, so for me it’s helpful to take a moment to make sure it’s setup in a way that compliments the musical material I’m trying to execute

[@ReubenCornell]

My main mistake is trying to compose in the first place.

[@vincecomposer]

😂

[@HOLLASOUNDSMUSIC]

Drawing and or recording midi is composing, the question is does it sound good?

[@wildflute]

Collaboration with real musicians is the piece that so many composers forget about or even dismiss as being restrictive.

[@vincecomposer]

Amen!

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

My BIG question is how are you doing with Divisi Mate?!

[@vincecomposer]

Personally I still mostly just use it as an improv tool! Usually when I score something I have a very particular sound in mind, and I find that divisimate tends to slow me down/interrupt the flow.- it takes a while to set up and puts me in a different state of mind. Often times I’ll end up re doing all the parts anyway.

[@ofelinto]

Great vídeo. Very comprehensive, mate.

[@vincecomposer]

Thanks for stopping by!

[@Rasenschneider]

It is hard to follow the Text with the music in the background

[@vincecomposer]

Thanks for the feedback, I’ll consider mixing it quieter/removing in the future.

[@HOLLASOUNDSMUSIC]

Interesting, can't you explain where your customers find You or You them?

[@vincecomposer]

Online research, cold calling and recommendations from past clients!

[@cesmcmyth]

Be careful with the vodka mate. it's about to spill

[@vincecomposer]

it's herbal tea I swear...

[@cesmcmyth]

@@vincecomposer 🤣. Sure. :-) Nice vid. Thanks for the tips. I also combine two keyboard controllers. 👌

[@PASHKULI]

Why is your video frames mirrored?

[@vincecomposer]

It’s because when i do videos with a keyboard on screen I like to be able to gesture or point at the correct part of the keyboard while playing. I tend to leave it flipped on OBS.

[@PASHKULI]

@@vincecomposer Couldn't quite understand but ok.

[@cathbadmusic8489]

Come on, pal, we all know that live players yield better results than virtual instruments. The real problem is clients want things to sound like fine musicians recorded in a good studio, with high quality mics and kit operated by an experienced engineer - but they don't want to pay any extra for it. So we do our best with the samples, which takes a lot of time and skill.

[@vincecomposer]

Yep agreed that clients often undervalue quality music and using samples well is definitely an art. The game we’re playing is obviously to do the best we can within a given budget constraint. I think my point was just that there are also times when it’s tempting to say ‘it sounds fine’ in situations where there is a possibility of recording live- for reasons to do with ‘efficiency’ not wanting to do the additional work involved or a comfortableness with a sample based workflow. At least that’s been the case for me in the past.

[@HOLLASOUNDSMUSIC]

I know people who play who's playing doesn't equal the level of someone who just draw in midi, who cares how it's made if it sounds good.

[@vincecomposer]

@HOLLASOUNDSMUSIC agreed sometimes samples are the best tool for the job!

[@g3cd]

Umm, is your video mirrored? That clock on the right and the velocity controls on the keyboard look weird. All vanity aside - I'd much prefer to see the instruments the right way than your fringes.

[@vincecomposer]

Yep the video is mirrored because it’s easier when self shooting and as a hang over from other videos where I use keyboard overlay on the screen (makes it easier to point in the right place). Probably didn’t need to be for this one though!

[@stewartkingsley]

They are really arranging mistakes, not composing mistakes... except maybe No.5.

[@vincecomposer]

Yes this is a good point, I guess the emphasis here is more on what happens downstream of having the compositional idea. I’m using composition in the broad sense of the term I guess. Sorry if you felt misled!

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

For media composition, production is an integrated part. Anyways one can’t compose without arranging… The title is mistakes WHEN composing. Fine